The USDA has invested $700 million in competitive grant funding to provide relief to farm and food workers impacted by COVID-19. The new Farm and Food Workers Relief grant program is intended to help with costs for “reasonable and necessary personal, family, or living expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic,” such as costs for personal protective equipment, dependent care, and expenses associated with quarantines and testing related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additionally, $20 million of this funding has been set aside for at least one pilot program to support grocery workers and test options for reaching them in the future.
“We recognize that our farmworkers, meat packing workers, and grocery workers overcame unprecedented challenges and took on significant personal risk to ensure Americans could feed and sustain their families throughout the pandemic,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, in a statement. “They deserve recognition for their resilience and financial support for their efforts to meet personal and family needs while continuing to provide essential services. This grant program is another component of this Administration’s efforts to ensure assistance to alleviate the effects of the pandemic is distributed to those who need it most.”
A request for applications will be announced in early fall and will be open for 60 days, according to the USDA. Additional information and technical assistance for applying to these grants and program updates will be provided by USDA when the application period opens.
Related: USDA Seeks Comments on Cell-Cultured Meat, Poultry; USDA Dedicates Funding to Address Food, Nutrition Insecurity.